The owners of the Coast Hotel will turn part of their parking lot into a new condo building, after getting approval from Kamloops city council.
Mundi Hotels had first proposed a new Sheraton Hotel to be built right beside the Coast Hotel on Rogers Way. But then the pandemic hit, and owner Ron Mundi told NL News they changed their plans based on the impact to hotels but also the continued demand for housing during the pandemic.
“I think that this is an example of somebody recalibrating, essentially, an original application. I think we were all in support of it being a hotel, but a lot has changed since that application came to council. And we do need more market housing, whether that end up being rental or strata,” councillor Sadie Hunter said.
There was some concern with the plan expressed during a public hearing. Christine Sorensen says she doesn’t think it’s a safe street to build this kind of housing.
“The number of transients that are there now… Absolutely appalled at the lack of cleanliness all along Rogers Way, which is supposed to be a gateway for our city. And your tourism central where everybody comes. It’s filthy,” Sorensen said.
“The amount of drug paraphernalia and alcohol and everything that’s there, I just don’t know why the city lets business owners let it go like this. And you want to put families in there, and families are different structures… I don’t know who they’re planning to designate it to, but I don’t think it’s a healthy place.”
Council still approved a zoning amendment by a unanimous vote to allow the project to go ahead. The zoning bylaw amendment would still need to be adopted at a later date, pending approval from the Ministry of Transportation given its proximity to a provincial highway.
Once built, the six-storey condo will have 104 units of housing. It will also have a two-floor underground parkade with 150 units for occupants of the building.
Councillor Arjun Singh says people may find it attractive based on how close it is to amenities.
“It is all hotels up there and more of a commercial kind of a corridor. I think we have to look at all different types of housing opportunities for folks. Lots of folks may find that area very attractive,” Singh said. “I think we should always focus on what’s healthy for the community in terms of living arrangements. And I don’t think this is out of line with people’s conception of what may be a good place to be and a healthy place to enjoy a life.”
Councillor Hunter later said she thinks it is a good area for families, saying Hugh Allan Drive is filled with multi-family units only a block away and she lived there as a single parent for several years. Several other council members said the project will enhance the area, and said there’s a huge shortage of suites in Kamloops which is contributing to a housing crunch and affordability issues.
“When I look around Kamloops, we’re at the convergence of three major highways. CP, CN. We have tough topography; we’re in floodplain, silt bluff areas. It’s very difficult to find good places to build. And I think this will work,” councillor Mike O’Reilly said, who added Kamloops is seeing a “massive inventory crisis” for housing.
Tuesday was a busy day for Kamloops council approving new condo and apartment units. This approval came after council gave a greenlight to an 11-storey rental apartment for downtown, which will have 115 units on the 600-block of Lansdowne Street.